I have found another of the best places for breakfast in the surrounding area! Wheelers Cafe and…read moreMarket is a modest little place surrounded by cornfields off of Indiana 37, but don't let that deter you. They, hands down, have some of the best food around for miles! The building that Wheelers Cafe and Market occupies stood abandoned for as long as I can remember before the owners of Mercantile 37 snapped it up and renovated it. The cafe has a separate entrance from the mercantile due to differing hours of operation. The cafe is open Tuesday - Saturday, 8am - 4pm and closed on Sundays and Mondays. Wheelers has a simple menu that is mostly sandwiches, with a few other offerings thrown in (think of another Indiana staple - Biscuits & Gravy). Being my first trip, the Spicy Piggy stood out so I ordered that. The Spicy Piggy is a breakfast sandwich that has ham, egg, pepper jack cheese, bacon jam, and cholula aoli on jalapeño cheddar bread. I also ordered a coffee along with my sandwich. There is plenty of seating inside, though I am sure it fills up when they get busy. There is also ample seating outside for when the weather is nice. I found a seat, and looked around while my sandwich was being made. There is a collection of coolers along one wall that contain products from local farms and providers, as well as some craft foods from small businesses in the U.S.. Hence "Market".
My breakfast sandwich was delivered to my table in no time and I dug in. That first bite was a mixture of complex flavors that I don't experience much in the area I live. If you are out eating with me and I start randomly humming, you know I am in love with what ever it is I just bit in to, and I was humming this morning! The ham had an intense flavor, unlike the mass produced stuff you get at the grocery. (I'd love to know where they get it!), the eggs were perfectly cooked, the cheese had a nice, mild burn to it (Pepper Jack cheese is a perfect cheese in my opinion!), and the bacon jam along with the cholula aoli (a fancy term for mayonnaise, if you didn't konw) brought a flavorful component to the sandwich that took it to the next level. It would have been a good sandwich without the bacon jam and cholula aoli, but the addition of these two items, are what got my tastebuds singing! The coffee was some of the best I have had in a long time also. I have shy-ed away from ordering coffee when I am out having breakfast because to many places use coffee that is reported to the best part of waking up, and is actually stale, brown water. So, I was excited when I took a sip of my cup of coffee.
The Mercantile 37 website says that Neil and Angie Fine are excited to be part of the Mercantile 37 team by operating Wheelers Cafe and Market. Neal is said to be the sandwich guru, and that he and his wife, Angie, have a passion for good coffee and local food. The website also says the couple have over 25 years of experience in the food industry, and it shows! Wheelers Cafe and Market is another one of those places that I ask why are you still reading this review and not speeding over there to experience it yourself.